More than a third of Americans are facing a scorching heat that threatens to topple temperature records and stress power grids as homeowners and businesses crank up air conditioners to seek relief.
More than 134 million people are under some sort of heat warning or advisory across the US on Monday, with the bulk of them caught in an unbroken stretch of heat stretching from the central to southern US, according to the National Weather Service.
“It’s a big area across the middle section of the country,” said Bob Oravec, a senior branch forecaster at the US Weather Prediction Center. “There is still a lot of heat through the Plains for the first half of the week. Then the heat will definitely shift westward.”
St. Louis is expected to reach a high of 99F (37C) on Monday, which will feel closer to 113F with the humidity, while Dallas is set to reach 102F with a heat index of 108F, according to Oravec. Other high-temperature pockets are in southern California and around Phoenix.
“Either way, there is going to be a lot of heat somewhere through the week,” he said.
Most temperature records will be challenged in Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma and the Texas Panhandle as well as across the Gulf Coast on Monday, according to the US Weather Prediction Center. Across the country, 94 daily high temperature records may be broken, threatened or tied through Sunday, the agency said. In addition, 242 record warm overnight lows may also be challenged, meaning there will be little relief from the daytime heat and a higher possibility that energy demand will remain high in many areas.
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The heat is taxing power grid operators across the US. Southwest Power Pool and the Midcontinent Independent System Operator, which together cover at least parts of 20 states, have warned that loads may rise as high temperatures drive energy demand. Stagnant air under the large high-pressure system may also crimp wind-generated power at peak times.
SPP ended a level two emergency alert for the western part of its grid Friday, but it remains under a “conservative operations advisory” as a precaution amid the heat. MISO has a severe weather alert in place until the end of the day, warning of intense thunderstorms, straight-line winds, large hail and the potential for isolated tornadoes. Prices rises on both grids were muted Monday morning.
Through the course of the week, the heat will start to shift westward, Oravec said. This will bring a break to the middle part of the country, but will likely send temperatures across California soaring.
Temperatures are set to rise 3F to 5F degrees above normal throughout the West, including large parts of California, from Aug. 1 to 5, Commodity Weather Group said in its Monday forecast. While the central and western parts of the US bake, New York City and most of the Northeast will remain seasonally cool. Monday’s high in Manhattan’s Central Park is forecast to reach 83F and cool Tuesday to 79F with rain.
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